


Super Smash Extras Present: Strength and Focus

by arizonia1



Series: The "Chuckster" Universe [13]
Category: Persona 4, Super Smash Brothers, Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Crash Course Learning, Gen, Lectures, Minor Fanservice, Swordplay, There's many ways to learn how to fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-22
Updated: 2017-03-22
Packaged: 2018-10-09 08:20:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10407903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arizonia1/pseuds/arizonia1
Summary: Yu and Yosuke, along with the rest of the IT, have crashed into Smansion again and look to Dunban for some quick pointers on properly fighting. It kind of works.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, yes, I know Birds still isn't done but I needed to kick my writers block.

**February 8, 2016**   
  
It was a mild winter afternoon in the Smash dimension. Bayonetta and the Corrin twins had been officially inducted into the roster a little less than a week ago and there’s been quite an uproar from the fighters that Cereza is a little on the side of ‘overpowered’. All of it was just hooplah to Dunban. He didn’t care one way or another about the new fighters, since he couldn’t personally challenge them. Sure, he could spar in the training room with Corrin and Kamui since they had swords, but he’d rather not lose his other arm to a dragon. There was also word spreading around that the Investigation Team had once again crashed, (literally), in the Mansion for a little while. Once again, the war veteran didn’t quite care, as the group was a bunch of teenagers, and he didn’t really click with youth anymore.   
  
Dunban was outside by the fountain as usual, as he watched the winter birds hop around, and occasionally jump in for a bath. Being an assistant allowed him to have a lot more time to himself, compared to other fighters. But, on the flipside, he didn’t feel like he was quite up to par in his personal training. While he did spend a lot of time sparring and training with Chrom and Magnus, it didn’t stop the Homs from lamenting his lack of inclusion. The loud rushing of the water at least helped to clear his thoughts of any negativity. It wasn’t the natural sound of water he preferred, but something was better than nothing.   
  
Though, the peaceful silence didn’t last forever. Soon enough, a chipper voice cut through Dunban’s thoughts, and he looked up to see Yu and Yosuke walking his way. The latter in good spirits, quite the far cry from their first meeting all those months ago. The wound on his left arm and hand from Phosphora’s lightning having healed nicely, (even though the scars were still pretty noticeable under the teen’s sleeve). Standing up, the Homs went to greet the two.   
  
“Good afternoon to you both.” Dunban said gently as he shakes their hands. “I heard you and your friends had come by again.”   
  
Yosuke grinned like a lunatic. “Yeah, you know us, we always have unexpected entrances.”   
  
“How have you been Dunban-san?” Yu asked quietly.   
  
“I could ask you the same as it’s been a while, but I’m doing quite alright. Though, I must ask why you two sought me out.” Dunban frowned. “You two should be spending time with people your age, there’s not much an old man like myself can offer you.”   
  
Yu and Yosuke’s smiles faded at the Homs’ blunt comment. He often made self-deprecating comments when it came to his age (not that he lets anyone _else_ call him old), especially around teenagers.   
  
Yu was the first to speak up. “Actually we came to see you, because you’re probably the only person that can help us with something.”   
  
Dunban tilted his head slightly as he rested his hand on his hip. Something only he could help with? He lives in a Mansion of at least sixty people, and the young duo choose to come to _him_ for something. Clearly, whatever it was, was important to Yu and Yosuke if their first thoughts were to seek out Dunban, and ask him something after arriving in the dimension.   
  
Bashfully, Yosuke rubbed the back of his head, before continuing where his partner left off. “Yeah, we were hoping you’d give us a few lessons. If I remember right, you told me you can use wind powers like I can.”   
  
“You are also a skilled swordsman.” Yu chimed in.   
  
Again the Homs tilted his head in slight confusion. “You two already know how to fight, I thought. For what reason would you require me to teach you anything?”   
  
Quietly, but with some sense of urgency, Yu explained that back in their world that the Investigation Team were on a mission to save their friend Marie. Given the circumstance he mentioned that he felt they only have one day to actually save her from the Midnight Channel before she disappeared forever. He added that it had been some time since they last had to fight and they both might be a little rusty. As the leader and vice leader of the team, they needed to be more conditioned than everyone else in case of emergency. Especially since they don’t have time to retrain before saving their friend. It was imperative they got as much practice as possible while outside their timeline.   
  
Dunban mulled this information over for a little bit in his head. On one hand he would be helping these two out on a mission that is clearly important to them, on the other hand he’s not sure if he’s capable of being a proper teacher. There was his disability to consider, he might have trouble instructing Yu properly given that he’s dominantly right-handed. Though, he also has the chance to help him become more capable of minimizing any prominent weakness he may have. Yosuke did mention all that time ago that his partner predominantly uses lightning as a counter to his wind powers.   
  
After a few minutes of deliberation Dunban finally spoke up again. “Very well I’ll take up your offer.” He paused as the boys let out a sigh of relief. “I will warn you, however; I will not treat you lightly. Shulk can attest that I am extremely strict.” Dunban almost laughed when he saw Yosuke shrink back a little in fear.   
  
Yu nodded though in agreement. “Where would you like us to meet you? The Training Room?”   
  
A curt shake of the head. “I request you meet me at the amphitheater in ten minutes. There’s enough space there for us to properly practice without worrying about hitting the walls too much. In the meanwhile I will get myself prepared.”   


* * *

  
The ten minutes passed extremely quickly and the duo found themselves standing at the center of the amphitheater, weapons drawn. Fiora and Shulk were sitting in the stands talking amongst themselves while waiting for Dunban. The couple always enjoyed watching Fiora’s older brother giving an old-fashioned schooling to those unaware of his teaching techniques. Shulk in particular has been at the receiving end of Dunban’s blade before, and watching his mentor doing the same to others is going to be extremely amusing to him.   
  
Dunban himself showed up about a minute or so after Yu and Yosuke had with his old corporal’s uniform and hair tied back. He descended the stairs at his own leisurely pace and even gave a casual greeting to his sister before reaching the base of the stage. It took him very little effort to get up onto the stage and confront his new students. Confidently he strode up to the center and faced the teens.   
  
“All right. Are you ready to begin?” Dunban asked as he drew his own sword and held it in front of him. He closed his eyes and took a calming breath, a fiery orange aura flaring to life around him before speaking again. “I will warn you once more, I will not treat you lightly. You are capable fighters so come at me like you mean to kill. No powers, no tricks, just your weapons for now.”   
  
Yu and Yosuke nodded in agreement. Yosuke hopped backwards to get some distance as Yu started to close the distance between himself and the Homs man. His sword lagged behind him a little, the tip occasionally scratching against the ground as he ran. With as much strength as he could muster along with momentum the silveret swung his sword up to strike Dunban’s unguarded left shoulder. However, Yu lost his balance and started to fall forward as his instructor merely sidestepped his attack and turned around just in time to block an overhead attack from Yosuke in the same fraction of a second.   
  
Yosuke growled as his weapons clashed against the cold steel of Dunban’s own weapon before he broke away and just barely backflipped out of the way of the counter attack. He stumbled a bit as he landed before trying to gear up for his spinning attack. The brunette rushed towards the Homs first before kicking his leg up to get himself spinning like a tornado. While he couldn’t really see where he was going, he made up for that in sheer attack power. Only he didn’t realize that his mentor was fully capable of dodging attacks like that as if it were nothing. Due to not being able to properly see where he was going, or what he was trying to hit, Yosuke nearly crashed right into Yu after he finally got back up, and ended up falling on his face as he came out of the attack. He forgot that if he didn’t hit anything he’d get really dizzy from that.   
  
Yu himself only barely managed to leap out of the way of his friend’s attack before focusing back on Dunban. The orange aura was starting to fade, and that was Yu’s time to strike as whatever effect was starting to wear down. Going in high, Yu raised his blade above his head and went in for a jump attack, only for Dunban to dodge out of the way yet again without even getting a scratch. The Homs himself paused for a second to take another calming breath.   
  
“Stay calm. Stay focused.” Dunban mutters as the aura flares to life again. Whatever he was using must have a very short cooldown if he can already use it again.   
  
Yosuke finally got back to his feet and turned around quickly. This time he starting rushing towards his teacher with his kunai closer to his face to he could hopefully get one clean slice in. Dunban was ready for that though as he simply slashed his katana against Yosuke’s weapons and knocked them clean out of the teens hands. Without hesitation Dunban also kicked Yosuke right in the gut with enough force to stagger him before shoulder checking him to the ground.   
  
It didn’t even take a second for Dunban to turn around and see Yu charging at him again with an intense fire in his eyes. Without hesitation Dunban lept into the air and started spinning with gale force winds so strong that Yu couldn’t even stay standing and was forced to the ground before they subsided.   
  
With an intense glare in his eyes the Homs adult walked over to Yu and pointed the tip of his katana right at Yu’s face before speaking. His tone harsh and piercing. “Your will is strong but your body isn’t. That sword is way too heavy for you and it leaves you predictable, slow, and open. Your stance is too wide and you’re trying to compensate for the weight of your weapon. I saw how the blade would often hit the ground as you rushed at me, that simply is unacceptable.”   
  
Yu growled as he rolled out of the way and picked up his weapon again. He tried to adjust his stance and hold the sword higher off the ground to show he was capable of using it. Dunban merely looked at him disapprovingly as he turned to Yosuke who was still trying to recover from being hit with Electric Gutbuster.   
  
“And you.” Dunban starts, his words somehow even sharper than before. “You’re fast and agile, but I could see your attacks coming a kilometre away. Use your speed to trick your opponents into thinking you’re going to do something else. You aren’t even capable of dodging out of the way of a simple attack and you should be ashamed of yourself for that.”   
  
Yosuke simply bared his teeth as he was lectured before standing once more. He walked over to grab his kunai once more and hit a more defensive stance.   
  
The Homs looked to either side of him to see the teens were willing to try one last time to hit him. He plunged his katana into the ground and cracked his neck before rubbing it tenderly.   
  
“You still wish to attack me? Very well.” Dunban takes a couple steps backwards away from his sword and extended his good arm outwards to show he was willing to go unarmed.   
  
Fiora giggled a little as she rested a hand to her chin. “I know what Dunban’s about to do and it’s not going to end well for those two.   
  
“I wish I had a camera for this.” Shulk added as he watched another aura flare up around his mentor. “This is something I’m sure Reyn would have loved to see.”   
  
Yu growled once more as he charged once more towards Dunban, this time his sword at a much more neutral position as he prepared to strike. His plan was cut short though as his teacher jumped into the air once again and spun around landed a clean kick to the silveret’s chest with such force it knocked him halfway across the stage from impact.   
  
“You’re letting your temper get the best of you! Throwing a childish tantrum will not lead you to victory!” Dunban shouted at his student with a voice that Shulk would describe only as ‘extremely annoyed’.   
  
Yosuke wasn’t going to have any of that though. No one calls his partner childish! He jumped into the air to look like he was coming in from above only to use his wind abilities to quickly take him to the ground to catch his opponent off guard. What he didn’t expect though was for Dunban to anticipate this and grab his wrist (with his bad hand no less) and unleash a powerful electric shock. Fiora and Shulk could be heard reacting to that while flinching, that looked like it hurt.   
  
Dunban turned around and glared at Yosuke with the most disapproving stare he was capable of mustering. “You’re just as bad as Yu, letting your temper and emotions overtake your actions. Recklessness like that is what gets people killed! You’re heedless, temperamental, and a coward.”   
  
Yosuke flinched at being called cowardly as well as hotheaded. He and Yu both watched as their mentor walked back to his sword and plucked it from the ground to return it to its sheath. Dunban began to walk to the edge of the stage before stopping.   
  
Without turning around the war veteran spoke once more. “I will not teach you two anything until you show you’re capable of controlling your tempers. I don’t have time to be a babysitter.”   
  
Dunban took one last glance at the two teenagers after his lecture before jumping off the stage to return to the manor. They watched on in silence as he ascended the stairs and disappeared from sight. Yu opened his mouth to speak but was cut off when Shulk and Fiora suddenly burst into boisterous laughter.   
  
The Monado boy himself found himself rolling onto his back across the ledge he’s on as he tried to contain his amusement. “You should have seen the looks on your faces! Ahahahaha!”   
  
“I’ve haven’t seen my brother give that stern of a lecture, snrk, since he caught Shulk and Reyn running around Tephra Cave alone when we were children!” Fiora snorted out as she held her stomach.   
  
“Oh! What about that time when Reyn hit you with his shoe on accident?” Shulk added as he continued his attempt to suppress his laughter.   
  
“I was _sure_ he was going to have your heads that day!”   
  
Yu froze in surprise at the two blonds. They found this **amusing** ? He and Yosuke just got their asses handed to them on a silver platter and they’re **laughing** !? How embarrassing. Ok, maybe in hindsight an onlooker would have possibly found that train-wreck of a sparring match amusing but right then all Yu felt was mild humiliation. How could he be expected to save Marie if he couldn’t even get a single hit on an actual skilled opponent? If he and Yosuke were that out of practice the Shadows would be able to tear them limb from limb if they didn’t have their Personas.   
  
Maybe that was their problem as well. They were so used to relying on Izanagi and Susano-o for providing defense as well as being able to attack that they never did really bother learning how to defend themselves in case of emergency. That, and Dunban had a point. Yu tried to not let his emotions cloud his judgement but he’s not perfect, when it came to those he cares about his temper got the best of him more often than not. Yosuke being no better given that half the reason he and Yu even started investigating the TV world was to avenge Saki after her death, and it didn’t take much to get Yosuke angry.   
  
Yu sighed in defeat as he went over to help Yosuke to his feet so they could formulate a way of getting their training done. At least by that point Shulk and Fiora had stopped laughing and were getting ready to leave hand in hand. He felt that maybe he and his partner should also probably make their way to the mansion as well. A shoulder massage or a shower sounded like a good idea to Yu at that moment.   


* * *

  
It was about an hour later and Yu and Yosuke had just got back to their temporary room from the showers to wash away the sweat and humiliation from earlier. The silveret had made it his first goal to hop onto the bed and stretch out on his stomach before resting his arms under his head.   
  
Yosuke tilted his head as he ran his towel through his hair to dry it a little. “Need a massage partner?”   
  
“Up to you.” Yu murmured, almost to himself, as he closed his eyes for a second. “I was going to try and take a short cat nap.”   
  
“Well I don’t mind, you always complain about your shoulders hurting.” The brunet added as he walked over to the nightstand to get some lotion. “You’re also the one who practically melts when I get my hands on you.”   
  
A light giggle. “What can I say? Your hands are like magic.”   
  
“My hands aren’t the only thing that are magic.” Yosuke replied as he started to warm the lotion a bit in his hands.   
  
It was true though, whatever worries or stress Yu had always seemed to melt away once his partner’s hands started to knead against his body. The massage always started off innocently enough. Feathery touches followed by deep presses to the muscles. Just where Yosuke learned how to give such a heavenly massage was a mystery in of itself. That wasn’t important though to Yu as he felt those magic hands rub between his shoulder blades and released the tension. He couldn’t even help but let out a pleasured moan in response, even if it was a little quiet. Can never know who’s right outside the door in this madhouse.   
  
Although, if Yosuke didn’t stop soon Yu wasn’t sure he’d be able to stay quiet. Especially since he felt those feathery touches start to move lower along his back. The silveret also felt his partner’s breath ghost along his neck before getting replaced by light kisses at the junction where his neck met his shoulder. When did Yosuke get on the bed? Didn’t matter right then, those hands had reached the small of Yu’s back and kneaded to get rid of the tension there too.   
  
Yu gasped lightly as felt Yosuke rest a hand on one of his thighs. Should have figured he’d do that given their position. Just a little higher and-.   
  
“Hello? Are you two in there?” Fiora’s voice suddenly called from the other side of the door. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”   
  
Yosuke cursed (and Yu let out a pretty pathetic sounding whine) as he got off the bed. “Just give us a second Fiora-san!”   
  
Quickly the brunet hopped into his pants so he didn’t answer the door in just a towel. Just to save Yu from more embarrassment Yosuke walked out into the hallway after he greeted their unexpected guest. At least Fiora didn’t seem like she knew what the boys were doing when she knocked.   
  
“Did you need something?” Yosuke asked as he crossed his arms.   
  
Fiora tapped her toe against the floor. “Well, first I wanted to apologise for laughing at you two earlier.”   
  
“It’s fine, it’s… kind of funny to look back on?”   
  
“Second of all.” The Homs added with a smile. “I was wondering if you wanted to practise with me instead of my brother?”   
  
The brunet quirked an eyebrow in confusion. Why was Fiora asking if he wanted to spar with her? He and Yu asked Dunban specifically because of his ability to use a sword and his elemental powers. Then again, Yosuke didn’t know a whole lot about the war veteran’s younger sister. He knew she liked to cook, was Shulk’s girlfriend (that part confused for Yosuke since he could have sworn Shulk was dating Robin), and generally only fought if she needed to. As he mulled those points over he stuck his arms behind his head and idly stretched.   
  
After a couple minutes the brunette finally spoke. “I’ll take you up on that offer. Don’t see why not. I’ll talk to Yu about this and we’ll meet you outside?”   
  
Fiora smiled gentle. “Certainly. Just be prepared, I can be about as bad as my brother.”   
  
With those words in mind, the blonde turned on her heel and walked off with a spring in her step.   


* * *

  
Twenty minutes or so passed before Yu and Yosuke made it back to the Amphitheater. Shulk was sitting back to back with Robin on the bleachers with a book in his hand. His unoccupied hand intertwined with Robin’s as they both read. Fiora and Dunban, in the meanwhile, were sitting on the stage playing cards. From the looks of it, Fiora was winning. As the two boys made their way down Yu faintly heard the older Homs say ‘This is War!’ as he and his sister turned over their cards and put more down.   
  
Once they made it onto the stage Dunban finally conceded defeat as he lost his last couple cards. He didn’t seem extremely put down by it though and happily greeted the boys.   
  
“I see you two are willing to try once more. I would have thought you would take a lot longer to recover.” Dunban remarked as he stood up and dusted off his trousers.   
  
Yu smiled. “It takes a lot to bring us down. We’re willing to fight until the end.”   
  
Fiora giggled as she pushed back her bangs a little. “That’s the spirit. You must press on, and on, and on.”   
  
“But you musn’t be careless.” Her brother added.   
  
Yosuke winked as he stretched out. He casually remarked that he and Yu learned their lesson last time, and hope to not make those same mistakes again. A cocky grin crossed his face, as Fiora pulled out her twin daggers, and joked she might make him eat those words. Dunban doing the same, as he unsheathed his katana.   
  
Of course, Yu and Yosuke were going to have to learn how to hold their weapons properly first. And that may just be the hardest lesson they’ll be taught.

**Author's Note:**

> In case you didn't pick it up, Shulk is a happy polyamorous relationship with Fiora and Robin both. Yosuke just doesn't know that.


End file.
